1/07/2010 @ 4:00PM

Cotes du Rhone Wine Shopping Tips

The Rhône valley has been on a hot streak since 2003. Some years have been better than others, but since a dismal 2002 (rain through most of the growing season), there hasn’t been a bad year for wine quality here. The jury’s still out on 2008, but there are still plenty of 2006 and 2007 wines on the shelves.

Look for Côtes du Rhône-Villages wines.

These wines come from parts of the Côtes du Rhône that have higher grape-growing pedigrees, according to the French wine authorities, better known as the Institut National des Appellations d’Origine. These wines can cost about the same as regular Côtes du Rhônes, but are likely to deliver much higher quality. If it’s a Côtes du Rhône with one of these 20 village names on the label and the price is right, give it a try: Rochegude, St-Maurice-sur-Eygues, Rousset-les-Vignes, Saint-Pantaléon-les-Vignes, Valréas, Visan, Saint-Maurice, Rochegude, Roaix, Rasteau, Cairanne, Séguret, Sablet, Massif d’Uchaux, Plan de Dieu, Puymeras, Saint-Gervais, Chusclan, Laudun, Signargues.

Look for big-name negotiants.

Negotiants buy grapes from growers throughout the region and bottle them according to their place of origin. One negotiant might have wines that cost as much as $100 or $1,000 per bottle, but it may also put plenty of care into its Côtes du Rhône that sells for as little as $8 or $9 per bottle. Some negociants’ Côtes du Rhônes to look for: Guigal, Chapoutier, Jaboulet, JL Chave and Jean Luc Colombo.

Look for big-name producers that dabble in Côtes du Rhône.

Several famous Chateuneuf-du-Pape wineries, such as Ch. de Beucastel and Mont Olivet, aren’t negotiants per se, but they also make Côtes du Rhône wines. These wines might cost a little more than the average Côtes du Rhône (perhaps $20 or more), but have the potential to deliver high quality as well.

Feel free to experiment.

Just because you haven’t heard of it doesn’t mean you won’t like it. Côtes du Rhône produces millions of bottles of wine per year, many of them below $10–maybe even as low as $5. That’s not too much to spend to take a gamble and give the wine a try.